Flash index-plate and apparatus for using same.



A. R. FERGUSSON.

FLASH INDEX PLATE AND APPARATUS FOR USING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.21, 1912.

1 139 5@9o Patented May 18, 1915.

r r o o ALAN ROBB FERGUSSON, OF NEW YORK, N. 1., ASSIGNOR TO MONTAGUE MAILING MACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF TENNESSEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1915.

Application filed August 21, 1912. Serial No. 716,224.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALAN R. Fnncosson, citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, New York city, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flash Index-Plates and Apparatus for Using Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to addressing or mailing systems in which address plates are employed, having thereon the address to be printed on the articles to be mailed.

My invention, in one aspect, concerns an improvement in the address plates whereby the same plate may be adjusted, or made to indicate that it belongs to any desired one of a number of classes, and my invention in another aspect concerns the means whereby the class to which any plate belongs will be forcibly brought to the attention of the operator who may then initiate the necessary action which the appearance of this plate calls for.

It will be understood that my invention relates particularly to those systems in which individual address plates are run through an addressing machine in succession, being taken from a file, and their order being maintained. \Vhen so run through the machine, it is desired that the operator of the machine be informed, for instance, when any one plate is to be skipped in the printing and allowed to pass through the machine without making an impression, or when the article, as a statement of account, is to be put aside, whenaddressed, for the purpose of writing a special accompanying letter.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a plan view of my address plate. Fig. 2

is a cross section of the address plate. Fig. i

3 is a view of a tab. Fig. 4 is a view of the address plate and the run-way of the machine along which it is moved. Fig. 5 is a view of another form of address plate by which my invention can be carried out. Fig. 6 is a view of a part of the runway for carrying out the invention in connection with the form of plate shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view of a modified form of plate.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the address plate, in its best form is of the type known as the Montague, such as is disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, to Owens 939739 Nov. 9, 1909, or Lee 982076, January 17, 1911, said plate having a main portion 1 containing the embossed characters of the address, and having rolled margins 2 offset to one side of the body of the plate. These rolled margins are formed by turning the edges ofv the offset marginal portions of the plate back upon themselves. This rolled margin is cut away or formed with an open- 1ng at one point 3, intermediate of the length of the plate, at which opening a tab t is exposed, bearing the indicating mark or word which informs the operator what actionis to be initiated, or how this particular address plate is to be handled in the machine, or how the addressed article is to be treated. This tab in its best form bears a number of marks, words or colors, each conveying its own information, and either mark, word or dinary pin engaging depressions as at 5, or

by notching the edge to receive the finger nail. The tab is held by frictional engagement with the walls of the rolled margin of the plate, and engages the said rolled margin at both its ends. 7 I

It will be seen from the above, that 1 provide a plate adjustable as to its class, or its indicative character, it being self contained and of considerable capacity. Either one or both rolled margins may be used in carrying out my invention, see Fig. 7 in.wl1ich the plate is indicated by 1.

In order that the character of the plate may be brought forcibly to the attention of the operator, and further, in order that the indicating marks or words may be of comparatively small size, to increase the capacity of the plate, without destroying its legibility, I make the tab of translucent material, as celluloid, and under the runway 6, of the machine, along which the address plates are fed, I place a lamp 7, preferably an incandescent, the rays of which pass through an opening 8, in the runway, and through the portion of the translucent tab exposed at the opening in the address plate, when said opening arrives over the opening 8 in the runway. This will produce-a flash eifect attracting the attention of the operator, who can readily read the indicating mark, word, or color, and act accordingly in be carried out in various ways.

in the address plates, the said the control of the machine or the printing or handling of the plate, or in the disposition of the bill or other article which is printed.

This part of my present invention may For instance, instead of having transparent tabs plates may be provided with openings variously disposed to aline individually with different indicators, or classifiers, in the runway, of the machine. Such a plate is shown at 1" in Fig. 5, the opening being indicated at m. This indicator or classifier may be variously constructed and arranged, but in one form it may consistof a translucent piece9, having thereon, at different points, the indicating marks or words. These are in position to aline individually with the openings in the address plates, so that as the plates arrive at the indicator plate the opening in one will register with one of the words or markings on the indicator plate, while all the other markings, as well as the remainder of the plate will be hidden, and, as in this instance also, a light is used on the under side of the runway, the rays from this will illuminate .the indicator plate so that its marking, exposed through the opening in the addressv plate, will be clearly legible. When another address plate comes along, with its opening differently disposed from that of the plate first mentioned, the said opening will register with its appropriate marking on the indicator plate, while the marking first mentioned will be hidden by the intact part of the address plate, and therefore this second plate, or the article printed thereby, will be disposed of in a manner different from that of the first plate, according to the meaning or direction conveyed to the operator by the marking or word, at the flash indicator plate or sign, which is exposed by the opening in the address plate.

The indicator or flash sign. plate ma be difierently colored, for instance, one marw 'ng or Word may appear on a blue ground, another on a red ground, a third on a white ground, a fourth on a yellow ground, and so on, to aid the operator to tell the class to which the plate belongs, by the color exposed at the opening in the address plate, and indeed the plate need not be marked other than with the different colors, an operator quickly learning the significance of the different colors. The tabs may be marked by difi'erent colors instead of words. or signs. The address plate may be fed along the runway by means like that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, granted to Owens, Lee & Lyle, December 19, 1911, #10124 .24, or U. G. Lee #101 4762, Jan. 16, 1912, though the inventlon isnot'limited in this regard, and any suitable form of inking mechanism, such as that disclosed in said patents, may be used, and also the impression mechamsm. The flash signal-may be located was to be displayed when the address plate arrives in position to make the impression, or at a point before it reaches this position. The runway for the plate is light proof except where the opening is made therein, or the translucent indicator is located.

The address plate, in its best form, will have an index tab at 10 which is held by the rolled margin.

As an exampleof one application of my invention, we will suppose that the celluloid strip or tab, has the words hold and slow printed thereon, with a blank space between, equal to the width of the opening in the address plate, and that this strip is provided with pin holes, as indicated at 11, in Fig. 3; the plates at the beginning of the operation of working the system are filed intrays or drawers, with their tabs adjusted to expose the plane section thereof at the openings in the address plates, the markings or words being hidden by the intact portion of the plate on each side of this opening, the book-keeper, running through his ledger, calls out in consecutive order, either by an alphabetical or numerical arrangement as indicated by the metal index tabs 10, the customers who owe nothing for that month. The book keepers assistant, with the drawers or trays of plates before him, and an ordinary pin in his hand, when the bookkeeper calls out the words no statement the clerk inserts the pin in the opening in the celluloid strip and slips the strip to the left, exposing the word hold.

When the bookkeeper comes across a cus-,

tomer who is behind in his payment, and to whom a letter must be written, he calls out the word slow, and his assistant then adjusts the celluloid strip to the right, exposing the word slow. After the entire file of plates has been gone through they are run through the addressing machine and the electric light flashing through the open-v ment of the strip as mounted in the plate.

If a plate arrives at the flash signal with its clear portion of the celluloid strip exposed, this plate is used in printing the article or statement, the next plate ma expose the word hold, and when this is flashed the plate is skipped and no article or statement 1s printed. When the word slow is mes es flashed, a statement or article is printed and the operator then sets it to one side for the purpose of writing a letter to request payment.

After the plates are all run through the machine, the operator or clerk, by the use of the ordinary pin, slips the tabs or strips back to normal position, leaving the entire list, with the central blank portion of the tabs expcsed, the entire list then being in form for readjustment in sending out the next months statments. I

As to the color scheme, suppose the con cern using the system has customers of various trades, purchasing difiterent classes of goods, let us assume that the concern gets out some new article of interest to only one of these trades, and that there are four classes of trades, each class is indicated by a color, namely, red, blue, yellow and white.

It is desired to send out circulars to the class indicated by red, and as the plates pass through the machine, all colors except the red are skipped. Thus it will be seen that the celluloid strips can be used for classifying circular lists as well as statement of accounts. Of course it will be understood that the colors may be used to indicate the treatment to be received by the plates or articles which are printed, those which are to be held being indicated by one color and those which are to be sent out by another color, and some name, number, letter or other mark might be used for distinguishing difi'erent classes. It will be seen that a color and character scheme, can be used interchangeably, and in combination, without removing from the plate the indexing tab. Half of the celluloid strip can be red and half blue, with characters printed on each half, so that the classification, as indicated by color, can be changed without changing the wording, or the wording can be changed without changing the color classification, and all of these can be accomplished without removing from the plate the indicating device or strip.

Whereas, as stated above, the address plate may be'provided with an opening in each margin, with an adjustable tab strip for each, the runway will have two open ings, one for each opening in the address plate. This form of the address plate is like, in effect, to the form described above, in which the plates have openin s difierently disposed to register with mar ings difien ently disposed. With this form of plate, one tab strip may be adjusted to expose a blank, while the other may be adjusted to' expose a marking, and these tab strips may be of difi'erent colors, in respect to each other, or their difierent portions may be riously colored.

I claim 1. An address plate having an opening and a tab, adjustable in relation to the opening, and carrying markings to be exposed at said opening, substantially as described.

2. An address plate having a rolled margin provided with an opening with a marked tab adjustable in the margin and in relation to said opening to expose'or hide its marking, substantially as described.

3. An address plate having a rolled margin with an opening therein intermediate the ends of said margin, and a tab bearing a marking adjustably held in the rolled margin, and adjustable lengthwise thereof to expose or hide its marking, substantially as described.

4. An address plate having a rolled margin ofiset to one side of the body of the plate having the address, said margin having an opening intermediate of its length, with a tab adjustable in the rolled margin, and having an indicating mark to be exposed at said opening, or to be hidden by the wall of the rolled margin, substantially as described.

5. An address plate having a rolled margin with an opening therein, intermediate of the ends of said margin, and a tab having a marking exposed at said opening, substantially as described.

6. An address plate having a transparent tab bearing a marking, substantially as described.

7. In combination with an address plate having means to indicate its class, and adapted for the passage of light therethrough, a runway for the plate, and a light below said runway the rays from which are exposed by the said indicating means, substantially as described.

8. A printing plate having a rolled margin with a portion thereof omitted, leaving a space intermediate of the ends of said margin, and a tab located in said space and having portions at its opposite ends fitting in the recesses of the rolled margin on opposite sides of said space, said tab bearing an indicating mark and being adjustable in relation to said space, while maintaining its connection with the plate to alter its class, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALAN ROBE FERGUSSQN.

Witnesses:

L. S. WILLS,

lit. WATERMAN. 

